Here's a verse that will insha-allah help us a lot in our daily lives.

Allah the Exalted forbids scoffing at people, which implies humiliating and belittling them. In the Sahih, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah said,

«ÇáúßöÈúÑõ ÈóØóÑõ ÇáúÍóÞøö æóÛóãúÕõ ÇáäøóÇÓ»

(Arrogance is refusing the truth and belittling people.) And in another Version

«ÛóãúØõ ÇáäøóÇÓ»

(And despising people) It is forbidden to scoff at and belittle people, for the injured party could be more honored and dearer to Allah the Exalted than those who ridicule and belittle them. This is why Allah the Exalted said,

(O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former. Nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former.) thus, stating this prohibition for men and then women. The statement of Allah the Exalted,

﴿æóáÇó ÊóáúãöÒõæÇú ÃóäÝõÓóßõãú﴾

(Nor defame yourselves,) forbids defaming each other. He among men who is a slanderer, and a backbiter, is cursed and condemned as Allah states

﴿æóíúáñ áøößõáøö åõãóÒóÉò áøõãóÒóÉò ﴾

(Woe to every Humazah, Lumazah)(104:1) Hamz is defamation by action, while Lamz is by words. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

﴿åóãøóÇÒò ãøóÔøóÂÁö Èöäóãöíãò ﴾

(Hammaz (defaming), going about with slander.) (68:11) meaning, he belittles and defames people, transgressing and spreading slander among them, which is the Lamz that uses words as its tool. Allah's statement here,

(Nor defame yourselves,) means, none of you should defame each other,' while,

﴿æóáÇó ÊóäóÇÈóÒõæÇú ÈöÇáÇøñáúÞóÜÈö﴾

(nor insult one another by nicknames.) means, `you should not address people by nick names that people dislike.' Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Jabirah bin Ad-Dahhak said, "This Ayah was revealed about us, Banu Salamah;

﴿æóáÇó ÊóäóÇÈóÒõæÇú ÈöÇáÇøñáúÞóÜÈö﴾

(nor insult one another by nicknames.) When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Al-Madinah, every man among us had two or three nicknames. When the Prophet called a man by one of these nicknames, people would say, `O Allah's Messenger! He hates that nickname.' Then this Ayah,

﴿æóáÇó ÊóäóÇÈóÒõæÇú ÈöÇáÇøñáúÞóÜÈö﴾

(nor insult one another by nicknames.) was revealed.'' Abu Dawud also collected this Hadith. The statement of Allah the Exalted and Most Honored,

﴿ÈöÆúÓó ÇáÇÓúãõ ÇáúÝõÓõæÞõ ÈóÚúÏó ÇáÇíãóÇäö﴾

(Evil is the name of wickedness after faith), means, the names and descriptions of wickedness are evil; meaning, `to use the nicknames that were used by the people of Jahiliyyah, after you embraced Islam and understood it,'

(12. O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed some suspicion is sin. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother You would hate it. And have Taqwa of Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.)

Its the Tafseeer Ibn Kathir.

Generally, we tend to make a mistake by spying because of misconception.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

Question: What is the ruling concerning the saying, “We will meet in Paradise –if Allah wills”?

Answer: This is a good saying and there is nothing wrong with it, and we ask Allah to gather us with our brothers in Paradise and that we meet in Paradise. But one shouldn’t say with it“if Allah wills.” Instead, one should say, “We ask Allah, by His Generosity, to allow us to meet in Paradise.” Or, “May Allah reunite us in Paradise.”

Ibn Baz.

Question: Sometimes when I wake up at two o’clock at night, I supplicate of Allah Almighty silently, but I do so without making ablution, neither do I pray voluntary prayers at that time. Is this permissible, or is it compulsory for me to perform ablution and prayer as well?

Answer: There is no harm in supplicating without having ablution, as well as when one is in a sate of sexual impurity. Purity is not a condition for invoking Allah Almighty. This is from Allah’s mercy because every person is in need of making supplication at all times.

Nevertheless, you are more likely to have your supplications answered if you are in a state of purity and if you pray especially when you are prostrating.

The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:

“The servant is closest to his Lord when he is prostrating, so supplicate more frequently therein.” (Muslim 482)

Ibn Baz

Question: Is this form of supplication correct: “O Allah, I ask you by your Beautiful Names and Attributes to………?”

Answer: It is from the Sunnah to petition Allah by His Beautiful Names and His Exalted Attributes, by one’s good deeds or by one’s love for the righteous. This is a means of having one’s prayers answered, regardless whether one does this before of after his supplication. But it is not permitted to petition Allah Almighty by mentioning people, like saying, “I ask you by so and so,” because this leads to associating partners with Allah Almighty.

Ibn Jibreen

Question: For one’s prayer to be answered, are raising the hands and facing the Qiblah requisite elements of the supplication?

Answer: Raising the hands during supplication as well as facing the Qiblah – the noblest direction to face- is a stressed Sunnah. However, the acceptance of our prayers is not condition on doing so. For indeed Allah accepts the supplication of the sincere Muslim when he supplicates even if he does not raise his hands or face the Qiblah.It is not necessary for the person supplicating to raise his hands in order for Allah to accept his supplication. Here there could be other factors that prevent its acceptance even though the hands were raised.

Ibn Jibreen.

All these Fatawas are taken from Fatawa Islamiyah Volume 7

May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala accept our Duas and Ibadah Ameen!

Wa Alaikum Salam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

“Verily your Lord is quick in punishment; yet He is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful (Surah Al-An’am 6:165)
"Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him is our return" (Surah Baqarah 2: 155)

Thereupon Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) said: "That is (the doing of the Shaitan) who is known as Khinzab, so when you perceive this effect, seek refuge with Allah from it and spit three times to your left." "I did that and Allah dispelled that from me." (Sahih Muslim #2203)

I learn the translations of the verses I recite often and try to remember the meaning while I am reciting to prevent other thoughts creeping in like what I’m going to prepare for lunch etc.

One sister advised me to think of death.

Another said, I should decide before I start what Surah I am going to recite.

And yet another said – she gets herself mentally ready to converse with Allah. Subhanallah, this is so true, we are presenting our selves to the Our Creator so we should stand in attention.

What works for you? Share your thoughts with us.

Wa Alaikum Salam

“Verily your Lord is quick in punishment; yet He is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful (Surah Al-An’am 6:165)
"Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him is our return" (Surah Baqarah 2: 155)

If we look deep into our daily lives and diagnose the causes of our spiritual, social and psychological illnesses, we will realize that probably something as uplifting, revolutionary, and empowering as Salah is missing.

If we, the youth, realize the potential role of Prayer in changing our lives and as a

constant source of hope, we would regret missing even a single Salah.

The Role of Salahin Changing our Lives

The whole purpose of Salah is to be ever conscious of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Salah is indeed, one of the most comprehensive forms of Dhikr (Remembrance). No wonder, Allah states in a hadith qudsi: "

Out of all the ways through which My servant gets closer to Me, Salah is the dearest to Me." (Bukhari) It is unfortunate, therefore, that we do not always take full advantage of this gift.

We may compare the obligatory Salah to bathing five times a day. If after such frequent bathing, your body still remains dirty, then we may question the usefulness and efficacy of such bathing. Similarly, if after regular observance of Prayer your heart remains unmoved and your morals remain corrupt, we may question the usefulness of your Prayer. If you

How can you improve the quality of your Salah? Remember, first and foremost, that as soon as you commence your Salah, Shaytan makes it his duty to fill your mind with anything and everything but thoughts of Allah. He tries ceaselessly to disengage your mind and heart from such remembrance. It is this state of absentmindedness that destroys the quality of your Prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said: "God does not accept the Prayers of an individual until his heart achieves in it what his body has achieved." [Al-Ghazali in Ihya-Uloom ad-Deen]

The ability to concentrate in Prayer may be improved by undertaking adequate psychological, mental and physical preparation before the Prayer and by utilising certain techniques during the Prayer.

i. Psychological and Mental Preparation before the Prayer

•The planning of your daily activities should revolve around the five daily Salah. Do not plan everything else and then try to fit Prayer into your busy schedule. Allah deserves a greater place in our lives than that!

•Ensure that you are conversant with all the rules and regulations governing your Prayer. Research in depth the Quranic verses and ahadith relating to the virtues of Salah. Uncertainty in how to perform one's prayer perfectly is a major cause of distraction.

•Be punctual with your Prayer. Get into the habit of praying at the earliest hour. Do not procrastinate. The Prophet said, "The deed most loved by Allah is Prayer performed on time." (Muslim) and "only the hypocrites intentionally delay their prayers"!

•Pray as much of your obligatory Salahincongregation as is possible.

This is not 'just a good thing' but an obligation on every Muslim male. According to the Prophet, if we knew the good in praying in jama'ah we would not miss it even if we had to crawl to the masjid!

•Avoid praying in astate in which you are mentally and physicallyfatigued.

•Keep your mind free of worldly worries, evil thoughts, and ideas.

•Plan what verses/duas you are going to recite.

•If you do not understand Arabic learn the meaning of what you recite in your Prayer.

•Remind yourself that engaging in Prayer offers you an opportunity torelease yourself from the tensions of this world. The Prophet has saidthat in Prayer was placed the comfort of his eyes. Therefore cherish theopportunity to remove the burdens of this world from your shoulders.

•Use your Prayer to remainfocused on your mission in life, which is tobring your entire being to serve only Allah.

•Use your Prayer as asource of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm foryour life and activities.

•Although the whole earth is amasjid or aplace of worship, choose aplace that is clean.

•Pray in an environment free of noise and one where there is nodistraction.

•Adorn yourself with clean and respectable clothes.

iii. Performing Your Prayer

•Assess your mental readiness for Prayer before its commencement,during the various postures, after each raka and ultimately at the end.

•Pray with humility both in your mental state and in your physicalmanner. Pray with hope and awe.

•Remind yourself continually that you are talking to the most important'One' in your life - your Creator and Sustainer. He is in front of you.You are facing Him and you are involved in a dialogue with Him.

•Commence your Prayer by seeking Allah's help and protection from the influences of Shaytan.

•Lower your gaze while praying and do not allow the physicalenvironment to distract you. Anas related that the Prophet said: "Mydear son, be sure to avoid being distracted during Prayer, for, tobecome distracted while praying is adisaster." (Tabarani) Remember that Allah will look at you as long as you keep your eyes on the ground.

•Use avariety of Quranic verses and duas in your Prayer to achieve greater concentration and awareness.

•Adopt a whispering techniquein your recitation in order to remain focused on what you are saying, and not distract others.

•As you recite the Quran, translate it into your own language so that your attention is held. As you ponder upon the meaning and implications of the words, insha-Allah, all worldly thoughts will disappear.

•On each occasion that you recite the Sifat or attributes of Allah in ruku and sajda, consider how indebted you are and how grateful you should be to Allah and express your true emotions.

•Utilize the occasion of sajda to make additional dua to Allah. TheProphet said: "Aservant is nearest to his Lord when he is in sajda, soincrease your supplication when in sajda." (Muslim.)

•Make your Prayer of moderate duration so that you do not becomephysically and mentally tired but be aware that while in Prayer youmust take your time praying.

•Give due regard to the proper performance of all the physical postures.Do not 'peck like acrow' when doing rukus and sajdas as every posture inSalah, even the rests, are important.

•Pray as if it is your last Prayer. The Messenger of God said: `When youstand up to pray, perform your prayer as if it were your last...'(Ahmad)

Performing your prayer in a satisfactory manner should lead to a radical change in the way you lead your daily life. Salah must be as the Quran states: Surely, Salah prevents indecency and evil [al-Ankabut 29:45.] Your improved and more disciplined life will in turn help the quality of your Prayer to increase even more. The two should continuously reinforce each other.

Remember, Salah is an obligation. Whether your heart is attentive or not, it must be performed. You cannot give up Prayer because to you it appears useless. There is punishment for a Prayer not performed satisfactorily. It will be a witness against you rather than a witness for you on the Day of Judgment. Don't give up the obligation but try to infuse it with the purpose it seeks to serve - remembrance of Allah. It is important to remember the saying of the Prophet (pbuh): "

If a man performs two rakas of Salah without the distraction of any worldly thought, all his previous sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari.)

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wassalam said in a hadith, '....and prayer is coolness of my eyes.'

I too have experienced this whispering quite alot and in my qiyyam i try to take Surah Fatihah as a conversation just as Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wassalam has said. I have noticed that if you think of worldly matters during your Wudu then its more likely that you are going to get worldly thoughts in your prayers too.

Some times when i get whispers and a thought just crosses my mind that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has blessed us with everything and i cant even concentrate in my prayer and that helps me. Humility and humble thoughts just before prayer, any ayah which makes you think, which makes you have longing for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Just the thought that you are standing right infront of your beloved, your Lord, your creator, your master and if we try we can have a direct conversation with him. Just remembering that Holy Quran is His word and try to be careful of recitation and know He is listening to us.

wassalam

Say: (O Muhammad) If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, MercifuL

Distraction in salah is a real hindrance. Reciting with tajweed and knowing what Iam reciting (ie. translation) helps me the most. But on and off shaitan still distracts me.

A scholar (cant remember who) apparently said that if you have lost something and cannot remember at all, stand up for salah. Shaitan will surely come and remind you there. All the stuff in the world will run through your head during salah. I think when we pray, shaitan is doing overtime.

I pray we all reach that level of khushu and pray as though we are seeing Allah.

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